Waterville area fisheries

The Waterville fisheries work area

A Waterville area fisheries biologist dips a largemouth bass from Lake Tetonka during a spring electrofishing survey.

Anglers who fish in Le Sueur, Rice, Steele, Blue Earth, Dodge, Freeborn, Mower, Faribault and Waseca counties benefit from the management, habitat and oversight work of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Waterville area fisheries staff.

Area Fisheries Supervisor Craig Soupir and a staff of six full-time and one part-time employee manage 120 fishing lakes and 107 rivers and streams.

These waters include popular fishing destinations such as the Cannon River Chain of Lakes, Madison Lake and Washington Lake. Each is popular for abundant panfish, largemouth bass, walleye and northern pike.

Information

Fishing outlook

Check out our 2020 fall area newsletter, updated at the end of September, and the 2020 Waterville area fishing outlook.

 

Information

• Education
• Fisheries long-term monitoring program
• Experimental & special regulations in the Waterville area
• Visit LakeFinder for stocking and survey information
• Waterville state fish hatchery history and fish management
• Producing northern pike in the Waterville hatchery (Click on the image below to watch a video on northern pike production!)

  

• Where to fish
• Winterkill and dissolved oxygen monitoring
• Minnesota's new northern pike zones

Useful links

• Aquatic invasive species; see also Statewide invasive carp update
• Aquatic plant management
• Conservation officer locator
• Fish diseases
• Fishing licenses
• Fishing regulations
• Fishing tournament information
• Toolbox regulation summaries

Our work

What we do

• Collecting and incubating up to 5 million northern pike eggs, hatching the eggs and holding fry to swim-up stage. Northern pike fry are stocked into Waterville Area lakes and rearing ponds and several lakes in the Windom and Hutchinson area.
• Up to 75 percent of all muskellunge stocked in Minnesota pass through Waterville hatching and rearing operations at some life stage. Muskellunge are stocked in French Lake in the Waterville area as well as transported to lakes and rivers throughout the state.
• Incubating 65 million walleye eggs and hatching 30 to 45 million walleye fry. Walleye of various life stages are stocked in Waterville area lakes and rearing ponds.
• Managing and maintaining displays at seven county fairs during July and August, including the Steele County Fair which is one of the largest in the state.
• Monitoring winter dissolved oxygen in up to 40 lakes and restocking lakes significantly impacted by winterkill using various fish species not produced at the hatchery including bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass and yellow perch.
• Developing and revising fisheries management plans for 120 lakes, 107 rivers and streams and nearly 2,000 acres of Aquatic Management Areas ranging in size from less than one acre to 300 acres covering 10 miles of shoreline on 27 lakes.

Contacts

Waterville staff

Slide text left for phones & emails

Name	Position	Phone	Email
Craig Soupir	Area supervisor	507-497-1821	[email protected]
Brandon Eder	Assistant area supervisor	507-497-1823	[email protected]
Andrew Scholten	Fisheries specialist - hatchery	507-497-1824	[email protected]
Skyler Wigen	Fisheries specialist	507-497-1825	[email protected]
Tyler Fellows	Fisheries specialist	507-497-1826	[email protected]
Peter Muggli	Fisheries technician	507-497-1827	[email protected]
Tanya Hankins	Office administrative specialist	507-497-1822	[email protected]
Steve Shroyer	Fisheries research scientist	507-497-1833	[email protected]
Dale Logsdon	Fisheries research biologist	507-497-1832	[email protected]